Staff Pick

An engrossing and nuanced look at the leadership styles of some of our most effective presidents (Abraham Lincoln, both Roosevelts, and Lyndon B. Johnson), Goodwin’s inspiring new tome is the perfect antidote for anyone feeling despondent over our current leadership. Recommended By Matt K. , Powells.com

Synopses & Reviews

Publisher Comments

In this culmination of five decades of acclaimed studies in presidential history, Pulitzer Prize-winning author Doris Kearns Goodwin offers an illuminating exploration into the early development, growth, and exercise of leadership.

Are leaders born or made? Where does ambition come from? How does adversity affect the growth of leadership? Does the man make the times or do the times make the man?

In Leadership, Goodwin draws upon four of the presidents she has studied most closely — Abraham Lincoln, Theodore Roosevelt, Franklin D. Roosevelt, and Lyndon B. Johnson (in civil rights) — to show how they first recognized leadership qualities within themselves, and were recognized by others as leaders.

No common pattern describes the trajectory of leadership. Although set apart in background, abilities, and temperament, these men shared a fierce ambition and a deep-seated resilience that enabled them to surmount uncommon adversity. At their best, all four were guided by a sense of moral purpose. At moments of great challenge, they were able to summon their talents to enlarge the opportunities and lives of others.

This seminal work provides an accessible and essential road map for aspiring and established leaders in every field. In today's polarized world, these stories of authentic leadership in times of apprehension and fracture take on a singular urgency.

Review

"Goodwin further burnishes her credentials as a popular historian with this thoughtful revisiting of the lives of four presidents to whom she has previously dedicated individual books — Abraham Lincoln, Theodore Roosevelt, Franklin D. Roosevelt, and Lyndon Johnson — with the aim of obtaining answers to eternal questions about leadership, including what life experiences contribute to it and whether 'the times make the leader' or vice versa....the tone is inspirational, setting forth examples of how to do leadership right." Publishers Weekly (Starred Review)

Review

"Business students invariably ask me: 'With what historical figure would you like to have lunch?' Doris Kearns Goodwin has prepared a marvelous banquet with four leaders whose lives provide lessons for all of us. Pull up a chair." Warren Buffett

Review

"Four towering individuals...in a masterwork on how good leaders become great leaders, how burning personal ambition can be elevated into driving ambition for a cause greater than self. Riveting, uplifting, and incisive, Leadership is a culminating work of a true intellectual artist." Jim Collins, author of "Good to Great," co-author "Built to Last"

About the Author

DORIS KEARNS GOODWIN’s interest in leadership began more than half a century ago as a professor at Harvard. Her experiences working for LBJ in the White House and later assisting him on his memoirs led to her bestselling Lyndon Johnson and the American Dream. She followed up with the Pulitzer Prize–winning No Ordinary Time: Franklin & Eleanor Roosevelt: The Home Front in World War II. She earned the Lincoln Prize for the runaway bestseller Team of Rivals, the basis for Steven Spielberg’s Academy Award-winning film Lincoln, and the Carnegie Medal for The Bully Pulpit, the New York Times bestselling chronicle of the friendship between Theodore Roosevelt and William Howard Taft. She lives in Concord, Massachusetts.

51

What Our Readers Are Saying

Average customer rating 5 (1 comments)

Doris Kearns Goodwin has written a wonderful book about the leadership qualities of four presidents, Abraham Lincoln, Theodore Roosevelt, Franklin Delano Roosevelt, and Lyndon B. Johnson. All four were different, influenced by different ideas, and were outstanding leaders. I learned so much about all four men. Lincoln was a true leader, he wanted to improve lives. When he was elected President the country was literally being torn apart. He assembled a group of people who were not yes men, but who he could trust them to tell him the truth. His decision to issue the Emancipation Proclamation came with much thought. Theodore Roosevelt solved a labor problem, paving the way for better labor relations. Franklin Roosevelt had to solve the problems caused by the great depression. Lyndon Johnson had the opportunity to pass bills that John F. Kennedy had supported, and were going nowhere. The book was broken up in 3 major sections, their young lives and their decision to enter politics, the major crisis that made them the men they became, and their dealings with the major crisis problems during their presidencies. This book was well researched and well written. I won this book, but all opinions are my own.